The Haunting History of the Drish House

In the summer of 2017, my friends and I visited the Drish house. My friends and I were curious about if the stories were true about the hauntings and ghosts that rome the house. We all wanted to go when nobody was there, so we decided to sneak in and investigate. Before we went through, we decided that we would do some research on the owners of the house, the history, and the supposed hauntings. The house was built for Dr. Drish in 1837.

Dr. Drish was one of the early settlers who came here in 1822. He got married to Sarah Owen Mckinney in 1835. Dr. Drish was a very successful physician and building contractor, but he did have a drinking and gambling problem, which ultimately led to his death. In 1867, John Drish fell down the stairs after getting very drunk and died. His wife, Sarah, kept the candles used for her funeral and wanted the same ones to burn during her own funeral.

When her time came in 1884, people went to search for the candles but they were never found. Many people believe Sarah haunts the Drish house because the candles were never used. After the deaths of Dr. Drish and Sarah Mckinney, the Tuscaloosa board of education opened up the Jemison School in the house in 1906. The school closed in 1925 and was bought for Charles Turner’s Wrecking Company. At this time, Walker Evans took a picture of the house. The picture is now hung in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Then in 1940 the southside babtist church bought the house and added a sanctuary and a Sunday school.

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In 1994, the house was close to being destroyed but was soon leased to the heritage commission of Tuscaloosa County. In 2006 the house was added to “places in peril” by the Alabama historical commission. In 2012 the house was renovated by Nika McCool and is now the sight for tours, parties, and weddings.

The drish house is considered one of the most haunted places in Alabama. Many people have reported to see the house on fire on the third story tower, but there was no evidence of one occurring. Many people believe it was the ghost of Sarah Mckinney lighting the candles that were supposed to be lit at her funeral. Other people have reported to hear strange voices and see ghostly figures when visiting the Drish house. This led my friends and I to want to visit the Drish house and see if it was actually haunted by Sarah Mckinney or not.

We all found ourselves in the third story tower where so many people claimed to see a fire. We all walked through the entire house and nothing spooky had happened until we walked into this room. It became so cold and eerie that I wanted to leave immediately, but my friends wanted to stay and take pictures. They all seemed to be unfazed by the room so I thought it was just my imagination, until they took my picture. My friends all looked at the picture of me and their faces went blank. I became curious and wanted to know what was wrong. They would not let me see the picture until we got out of the house and into the car. Once we got to the car, they let me see the picture they took. Right behind me was a tall white figure looming over me. There was nobody else in the house besides my riends and I so there was no way it could have been a person. The picture has haunted my friends and I to the point that we will never get close to the Drish house ever again.